Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
This week we have an inspiring story from Jared Brock, the author of A Year of Living Prayerfully (a humorous travel memoir about prayer). He tells us how minimalism has helped him and his wife tackle projects like founding charities, making documentaries, and traveling the world.
Jared writes:
A few years ago, my wife and I asked some friends to help us move. We packed our bags, rented a moving van, and assumed we’d be done by lunch.
It lasted all day.
It was exhausting and embarrassing – we had so much stuff. As I watched my friends sweat and struggle to haul out my belongings, I realized that my possessions had come to possess me. Right then and there, I vowed to myself that I would never put my friends through anything like that again.
Our minimalist adventure started slowly. We started by purging many of the wedding gifts that we had received. Then we took the 100 Things Challenge and pared down our number of possessions to a total of 88 combined items for a 5-month-long backpacking trip. It was one of the most freeing seasons of our lives. We encountered a lot of poverty as we traveled through seven Central American countries, but we also started to cultivate gratefulness and contentment in our lives, and a deep desire to do good in the world. It changed us forever.
Today we live in a shiny 1975 Airstream trailer. We don’t own a microwave or TV. I don’t drink coffee or bottled water, I mostly buy used clothes, and I’m a vegetarian. We’re carbon neutral, and we don’t even own cell phones. It’s been so freeing – it takes 5 minutes to clean the house, and 10 minutes to pack for a trip. We have way more time for friends – we spend most of our summer nights around the campfire. We’ll take relationships and experiences over possessions, any day.
My wife runs a charity to fight human trafficking, and living simply gave us the ability to make a 10-country documentary about this immense injustice. I recently completed a 37,000-mile prayer pilgrimage around the world – I met the Pope, danced with rabbis, visited North Korea and Westboro Baptist Church, walked on coals, revived my prayer life, and then wrote a book about the wild ride. Without intentional simplicity, we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy these incredible adventures. Minimalism is the tool that has helped us free up a margin of time and money in order to work on meaningful projects that we feel called to do.
It’s worth every penny, and every second.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
Good for you on not having cell phones and a microwave. I’m not sure I could give up my cell phone since it is my only phone. However, I just have a basic pay as you go phone. We went a month without a microwave. I preferred not having it, but my husband wanted one. I am also trying to give up things like coffee to live a simpler life.
Fantastic! I think it’s important to have a why, as clearly you do. We try to live minimally not just for the sake of minimal living itself, but because it frees us up to have space to move and to dream as well as the resources to do what we love. I find your journey, and that you’ve freed up time and resources to pursue your curiosities and share your passions, to be inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
wow, now thats living the dream for sure! I will look for this book as well!!!
I love that you found a new direction through minimalism. I find minimalism a way to live on less, with less and have a great time. Using fewer resources, like not using paper plates-and plastic silverware and using cereal boxes as art materials makes me happy.
Jared, thank you for your story. What is your wife’s charity? I want to learn more about what can be done about human trafficking.
Your story is so inspiring! I have whittled down my possessions a lot, to the point where I can fit everything in my van, but I’d still like to reduce it further. I guess I’ll just have to keep at it! ;-)
Everyday, I try to find 3 things to give away. I pretend I am moving and I have to pack things up. There are lots of places to look for things we don’t use often. I have the same stainless steel utensils I’ve had for over 40 years. I keep looking for things in places I don’t check very often.
I am in awe of people who are living in a trailer and can go at a moment’s notice. I am too attached to my garden and the plants and animals in it. I guess there are minimalist nomads and minimalist settlers and it is great that through interactions both groups’ lives are enriched.
I have spent the morning decluttering. As ususal, I broke all the rules. Didn’t stay in 1 place and ended up shoving it all back under my daughter’s bed.
Then I sat down to lunch. Turned on the computer and read this amazing post.
I’m now inspired to return to my morning’s rather dismal decluttering with a renewed vigour.
Thank you
Simple if the new green: Ditto on the cell phone. I don’t know why a person wouldn’t want to be able to communicate with family and friends!
Congrats on ditching the microwave (got rid of mine about 7 years ago) and being a veg (been one now for 25 years and approaching vegan). I too would love to read your book.
Was watching a paper crafting demonstration this morning and tried to figure out how to do what they were doing using things we already had in the house. Taught a kids craft class in the afternoon and we used up cycled materials.
Made paper insects with wire, tissue paper, beads, clothes pins, etc. THey ranged from ladybug size to dragonfly and butterfly size. Love using found and donated objects to make birds, insects, animals. Have also used discards to make birds’ nests, monsters, etc. Very little ever gets thrown out.
Wow, sounds like you are living the ultimate minimalist dream! And yet in your own, unique way. Glad that it is bringing you joy and purpose. (And you’ve inspired me to see if there’s any more of those wedding gifts I could give away!)
I am giving away more china. My daughter’s wedding china has been sitting in my cabinet for years. My clothes and jewelry are mostly used but I have been putting off buying shoes for a very long time and really need to buy some. I don’t stock up on anything and try not to keep more than one month’s supply of anything in the house. The kids give us movie and restaurant gift cards for gifts.
I am teaching a class in making jewelry from paper, fabric, and plastic pieces that would otherwise be thrown away. Last year, I used crochet thread someone gave me and buttons I found at rummage sales to make an elaborate necklace for my daughter in law. When I was putting away laundry the other day, I found 2 shirts to give away. I use the envelopes from junk mail instead of small plastic bags unless food storage is involved.
I used misprinted flyers and discarded file folders to make several kinds of beautiful flowers. I had so much given to me I passed two big bags to my grandsons ‘ art teacher. I keep throwing out and giving away as much as I can.